I was a school counselor in a very rural, poor school district. I was teaching a lesson about careers to second graders and one little boy said he wanted to draw when he grew up. I was very encouraging and said, “oh, an artist, what do you want to draw?”. He looked at me funny and said, “I don’t want to be an artist I want to draw a check the first of each month.” Government assistance is a lifestyle for many people.

The fact is we really need so little of what this world has to offer. Our pastor was talking about an area in Sudan and said we think oh, if they only had a microwave their life would be much better. The reality is if they had a relationship with Jesus their life would be so much better. It struck me how often I think my life would be better if I had some material item and how often all my “stuff” gets in the way of my relationship with Christ.